Political Glance
Republicans are howling (with no proof) that Obama paid a ransom for Bowe Bergdahl’s freedom. Funny. They weren’t howling when Bush actually did it.
The Bowe Bergdahl story moves to the hearing stage this week, so we’ll be treated to the sight of preening House Republicans trying to press Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on when it was that he, too, started hating America. Meanwhile, over in the fever swamps, speculation is growing about an alleged “ransom” the Obama administration may have paid to bring Bergdahl home.
The Right Didn’t Mind When Bush Paid a Ransom to Terrorists
GOP Straight Up Bribes Democratic Senator In Effort To Block Obamacare
The Republican Party in Virginia has resorted to what appears to be outright bribery in its ongoing effort to deny low-income residents in the state access to the Medicaid expansion authorized by Obamacare.
The Washington Post is reporting that Republicans offered to move Democratic state Sen. Phillip P. Puckett and his daughter into prestigious jobs in exchange for Puckett's resignation, which will flip the chamber into Republican hands. Puckett will officially accept the offer on Monday, the paper reported.
Obama to sign executive order easing student loan woes
President Barack Obama will issue an executive action on Monday aimed at making it easier for young people to avoid trouble repaying student loans, a White House official said on Sunday.
The president will sign an order directing the secretary of education to ensure that more students who borrowed federal direct loans be allowed to cap their loan payments at 10 percent of their monthly incomes, the official said.
Seas rise, Fla. GOP leaders balk at climate change
On a recent afternoon, Scott McKenzie watched torrential rains and a murky tide swallow the street outside his dog-grooming salon. Within minutes, much of this stretch of chic South Beach was flooded ankle-deep in a fetid mix of rain and sea.
"Welcome to the new Venice," McKenzie joked as salt water surged from the sewers.
There are few places in the nation more vulnerable to rising sea levels than low-lying South Florida, a tourist and retirement mecca built on drained swampland.
Sandy Becomes Another Christie Albatross
Nineteen months after Hurricane Sandy left four feet of water in Thomas Largey’s house in Sea Bright, New Jersey, the 82-year-old still lives with his daughter as he awaits aid to raise and rebuild his home.
Reopened resorts and new boardwalks touted by Governor Chris Christie obscure the experience of Jersey Shore residents like Largey who remain in hotels or with relatives. At the start of the second summer since the October 2012 storm, 6,300 people remain on a waiting list to receive grants for house-raising. Fewer than half of the 5,400 applications approved are under construction.
More Stupidity: Texas GOP advances ‘therapy’ to turn gay people straight
A push to include the new language in the platform survived a key vote late Thursday in Fort Worth at the Texas Republican Convention while, across the street, tea party star Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, fired up attendees at a rally to defend marriage as between a man and a woman.
Sylvia Burwell confirmed as new Secretary of Health and Human Services
The Senate has confirmed Sylvia Mathews Burwell to be the nation’s new health secretary and steward of the president’s health care law.
The 78-17 vote was a bipartisan show of support for the veteran government manager who most recently served as President Barack Obama’s budget director.
But Burwell will have to act quickly to head off more insurance chaos this fall.
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